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(No Model.)

G. E. REYNOLDS.

GAS ENGINE.

N0. 284,661. lPatented Au 28, 1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE H. REYNOLDS, OF NEV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CORNELIUS H. DELAMA'IER, GEORGE H. ROBINSON-AND WILLIAM DEL- AMATER, ALL OF SAME PLACE.

`(SEAS-ENGINE.V

l SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 284,061, dated August 28, 1883.

Application filed July '24, 1383. (No model.) I

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. REYNOLDS, of the city and county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas-Engines, of which the following is a specication. y

Although my invention is particularly applicable to gas-pumping engines for raising water to the tops of buildings, itis also appli` cable to gas-engines for other uses.

In operating gas-engines in which is employed an explosive mixture of gas and air it is very important that the spent gases, or the products of combustion remaining in the cylinder after each explosion, should be prevented from mingling with the fresh explosive mixture of gas and air, as the proper ignition and effective explosion of the gas and air are prevented by such admixture of the products of combustion.

An important object of my invention is to prevent the mixing of the products of combustion with the fresh explosive charge; and to this end the invention consists in the combination, with a gas-engine having an exhaustvalve which is' opened at each 'return-stroke, of a 'liringchamber communicating at its lower end or portion with the cylinder, and provided at its upper end or portion with a valve controlling the inlet of the explosive mixture and the firing of the same. The products of combustion,being heavier than the fresh mixture, constantly descend in the iiringchamber, and are taken from the lower end or part thereof into the cylinder and exhausted, While the Vfresh mixture is always admitted to and exploded in the upper end or portion of the firing-chamber, and is thus kept separate from the products of combustion. Vhen the engine is anupright one,with an overhead crank- Shaft, the cylinder and firing-chamber will be vertical and side by side, and the fresh mixture will be admitted to the upper end of the chamber, and the lower ends of the cylinder and chamber will be in communication.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple, cheap, and compact gas-pumping engine for raising water to thetops of buildings 5 and to this end the invention consists in the combination, with a gas-engine having an upright cylinder and an overheadcrank-shaft, of a rotary pump supported on the frame of the engine and operated directly bythe crankshaft of the engine, the pump shaft being formed by a continuation of the crank-shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide for cooling and maintaininga proper temperature of the cylinder ofthe pumping-engine by means of the water raised by the pump; and to this end the invention consistsin a novel method of operating a gas-pumping engine having a water-j acketing cylinder,said method consisting in passing a small portion of the water raised by the pump through the said water-jacket, and in regulating the quantity so passed through the jacket independently of the quantity raised by the pump. Thus I am enabled to divert from themain column of Water raised by the pump a quantity just sufficient to keep the cylinder from overheating, but not sufficient to cool the cylinder below the high temperature which is desirable.

The invention also consists in details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

I have here represented for purposes of illustration a vertical pumping-engine.

Figure 1 is a vertical section thereof, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation, looking from the left of Fig. 1, the ily-wheel being shown dotted.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both figures.

A designates the base of the engine, and B C designate, respectively, the cylinder and the firing-chamber, both of which are here shown as' mounted vertically on the base A and as formed side by side in the same casting. Both said cylinder and chamber B G are surrounded by a Water-jacket, B. The top of the cylinder is open, but the top of the firing-chamber is closed by an upper portion or cover, G, here shown as formed integral with one of the standards D, which support the crank-shaft E.

small outside chamber, a, into which gas passes from the pipe b under control of avalve c, and into which air passes-from a pipe, d. The airpipe d leads from a chamber, d', in which any gas which may pass downward through the pipe d will be retained, so as to prevent its escape, until it is drawn back into the chamber a. rIhe entrance of air and gas from the chamber a into the firing-chamber C and the igni- `tion of the charge therein are controlled by a,

disk-valve, e, of common form, mounted on a rotary stem or spindle, e', and said stem or spindle carries a wheel, G, receiving motion from a similar but smaller wheel, G, on the crank-shaft E. The wheel G carries a cam, c2, which acts upon the stem of the valve c to open the latter-and admit gas.

rlhe mechanism for operating the gas-valve -c forms no part of my present invention.

' At the bottom the ring-chamber C communicates by a passage, f, with the lower end of the cylinder B, and from the lower end of said cylinder a passage, j", leads downward to the exhaust-valve H. The exhaust-valve being lower than the cylinder, the spent gases or products of combustion,l which are heavier than air, will naturally iiow downward'to the valve.

H designates the valve-rod, at the upper end of which is a yoke,V H2, carrying a roller, g, which is operated on' by a cam, g', on the crank-shaft E toraise and open the valve H. This cam g is so proportioned and set that'it holds the valve H open during each downward or return stroke of the piston F', an/d leaves the valve closed during each upward lstroke of the piston. rIhe piston being at the bottom of the stroke, as shown in Fig. l, and supposing a mixture of gas and air to be exploded in the upper part of the chamber C, it will be understood that the piston/will be forced upward by the explosion. When the piston commences its descent, the valve H opens and the contents of the cylinder are discharged or exhausted. When the piston again ascends, the spent gases or products of combustion in the lower part of the chamber G are drawn into the cylinder through the passage f, and a fresh mixture of gas and air is taken into the top of the chamber C, while the heavier spent gases gravitate downward, and when the piston again descends the contentsv of the cylinder B are exhausted through the valve H. When the piston has passed the center on the downward stroke, a new explosion takes place and the operation is repeated.

It will be seen that the explosive mixture of gas and air is always taken in and exploded at the top of the chamber C, and the products of combustion constantly gravitate downward and are taken off at the bottom of the chamber; hence the stratum of explosive mixture is always above the heavier spent gases, and

the two are kept separate and are not mingled. Thereby I insureV a proper ignition every time and aneffective explosion.

I designates the y'rotary pump, which is mounted on a bracket, I, forming a part of the frame of the engine, and provided with a suction-pipe, I2. The rotary wheel of this pump is mounted directly on the crank-shaft E, and

is therefore operated without any intermediate gearing and in a very'simple manner. rIhe gas-engines of small size, which are `used for pumping water in buildings, are commonly run at such a high speed that a reciprocating pump cannot be worked without intermediate gearing for reducing the speed, and this is objectionable, because of the increased cost and noise produced thereby. A reciprocating pump is also objectionable, because the sound of the strokes or pulsations is conducted or telegraphed 7 through the building by the water-pipes. All the above objections are obviated by the use of a rotary pump connected directly with the crank-shaft of the engine and giving a continuous discharge.

In order to supply the jacket B with water for cooling, I connect the lower portion of the jacket by a branch pipe, J, with the suction-pipe I2 of the pump, and the upper porv tion of the jacket by a branch pipe, J, with the said suction-pipe. In the pipe J is a cock or valve, h,wherebythe flow of water through the pipes J J and the jacket B may be regu lated. When the pump is just started, the water will not rise in the suction-pipe until all the air is exhausted from the jacket B, as well as the pipe, and consequently the jacket and connecting-pipes J J, as well as the suctionpipe I2, will fill with water. the jacket becomes heated, a constant upward circulation will take place through the pipe J, jacket B', and pipe J provided the valve his open, and in this way I provide for circulat- IOO As the water in ing through the jacket a part of the water f raised by the pump, and by adjusting the valve h, I can regulate the temperature maintained in the jacket.

I do not claim, broadly, the circulation of water raised by a pump through the jacket of an engine employed to operate said pump, as Ericsson and others have so cooledthe cylinders of hot-air engines. In a hot-air engine, however, the obj ect has been to keep the cylinder as cool as possible, and hence the whole volume of water raised by'the pump has been circulated through the jacket, while in a gasengine the water in the jacket should be kept as nearly as possible up to the boiling-point, so as to maintain the heat ofthe cylinder while preventing it from being overheated; hence the efficiency of a gas-engine would be impaired by passing the whole of the water raised by the pump through the jacket. To this end I pass only a small portion ofthe water raised through the jacket, and I regulate the circulation through the jacket independently of the volume of water raised by the pump, so as to pass through the jacket as small a quantity as will IIO suffice to keep the water in the jacket below the boiling-point.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a gas-engine having an exhaust-valve which is opened at each return-stroke, of a iiring-chamber communieating at its lower portion with the cylinder, and provided at its upper portion with a valve for controlling the inlet of an explosive miX- ture of air and gas and the firing of said mixture, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination, with an upright gasengine having a valve which is operated at each return-stroke, of an upright firing-chamber arranged at the side of the engine-cylinder and communicating therewith at the lower end, and a valve at the upper end of the said chamber for controlling the inlet of an explosive mixture or' air and gas and the firing of said mixture, substantially as and for the lnupose described.

The combination of the base A, the cylinder B, andring-chamber C, aranged side by side thereon and communicating at their lower ends by the passage f, the exhaust-valve H and the passagef, leading downward thereto from the said cylinder, and the disk-valve e at the upper end of said chamber, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the cylinder B and firing-chamber C, arranged side by'side and communicating at their lower ends by the passage f, the exhaust-valve H and passage j", the gas and air inlet valves c c, the overhead Vcrank-shaft E, the piston and rod F F, gearing for operating the said gas and air valves on one side ofthe engine, and connections for operating said exhaust-valve on the opposite side ofthe engine, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a gas-engine having an upright cylinder and an overhead crankshaft, of a rotary pump supported on the frame of the engine and operated directly from the crank-shaft ofthe engine, the pumpshaft being formed by a continuation of the crank-shaft, substantially as described.

6. The improved method of operatinga gaspumping engine having a water-jacketed cyl- `inder, consisting in passing a portion of the water raised by the pump through the waterjacket and in regulating the quantity so passed through the jacket independently ofthe quantity raised by the pump, substantially as and for the purpose described.

7. The combination, with a gas-engine having a water-j acketed cylinder and apump operated by said engine, of a water-pipe through which water is raised by the pump, a branch pipe leading from said main pipe to the lower part of the jacket, a second branch pipe leading from the upper part of said jacket to the said main pipe, and a valve in one of said branch pipes for regulating the passage of, water through the jacket, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. The combination, with a gas-engine having a water-j acketed cylinder, of a rotary pump, I, operated directly by the crank-shaft E oi' the engine, a suction-pipe, I, branch pipes J J', connecting said suction-pipe with the water-jacket, and a valve, 7L, in one of said branch pipes, substantially as and for the purpose described.

eno. H. REYNOLDS.

ED. L. MORAN. 

